1In those days there was no king in Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until that day nothing had fallen to it as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
2So the sons of Dan sent from their clan five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, ‘Go, explore the land.’ And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Micah, and lodged there.
3While they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned aside there and said to him, ‘Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?’
4And he said to them, ‘Thus and so has Micah done for me; he hired me, and I have become his priest.’
5And they said to him, ‘Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we are going will succeed.’
6And the priest said to them, ‘Go in peace; the journey on which you go is before Yahweh.’
7So the five men went and came to Laish, and they saw the people who were in its midst dwelling securely, according to the custom of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no one in the land subjecting them to shame in anything, possessing authority; and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.
8And they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, ‘What do you report?’
9And they said, ‘Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And you keep silent? Do not be slow to go, to enter, to take possession of the land.
10When you come, you will come to a people at ease, and the land is broad on both sides; for God has given it into your hand—a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the land.’
11So there set out from there, from the clan of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.
12And they went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah; therefore they have called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim.
13And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish answered and said to their brothers, ‘Do you know that in these houses there is an ephod and household idols and a carved image and a cast image? Now therefore consider what you should do.’
15So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and asked him about his welfare.
16Now the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were standing at the entrance of the gate.
17And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up, entered there, and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image, while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girded with weapons of war.
18When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the cast image, the priest said to them, ‘What are you doing?’
19And they said to him, ‘Be silent; put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a clan in Israel?’
20And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and went into the midst of the people.
21So they turned and went off, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the valuables ahead of them.
22They had gone some distance from the house of Micah when the men who were in the houses near the house of Micah were called out together and overtook the sons of Dan.
23And they called out to the sons of Dan, and they turned their faces and said to Micah, ‘What is the matter with you, that you have mustered such a company?’
24And he said, ‘You have taken my gods that I made, and the priest, and gone off; and what do I have left? So how can you say to me, What is the matter with you?’
25And the sons of Dan said to him, ‘Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest bitter-souled men fall upon you and you lose your life and the lives of your household.’
26So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were stronger than he, he turned and went back to his house.
27And they took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and came against Laish, against a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and the city they burned with fire.
28And there was no deliverer, for it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone; and it was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and dwelt in it.
29And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; but originally the name of the city was Laish.
30And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
31They set up for themselves the carved image of Micah that he had made, all the days that the house of God was at Shiloh.
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